Tau Zero by Poul Anderson [Spoiler Free Review][Masterpieces of SF Ep. 25]

• Einstein’s Special Rel...
Sorry about the boring book cover on this one. I’m on the lookout for a mass market copy that I used in the thumbnail, stay tuned for future book hauls where I might find one.
On a personal note, I think this is the best video I’ve made on booktube. I got this on the first take and didn’t have to edit anything out. It makes it easier when you enjoy a book as much as I did with this one. I hope to continue to improve over time.
Thanks for watching!

[@uncannyvalleywoods7248]

Nice! I have a pile of Andersons that I'm itching to chew through.

[@thekeywitness]

I have a vintage Lancer paperback of it. It's on my TBR.

[@sfwordsofwonder]

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

[@bartsbookspace]

I’m glad to see your positive review of the book. I definitely want to get to it before the end of the year. 👍

[@sfwordsofwonder]

I think you will like it.

[@OmnivorousReader]

Poul Anderson is a way underrated author. I recently re-read Orbit Unlimited and was blown away (again) at how excellent he is as an author as well as how well he does sci-fi. His writing just feels effortless. Thank you for the review; I believe I have read Tau Zero, but I do not remember it and so I clearly need to re-read.

[@sfwordsofwonder]

I think I actually liked the book better on a re-read. I think forgetting the ending helped.

[@OmnivorousReader]

@@sfwordsofwonder Then I should do well. Not only do I not remember the ending, but I have pretty shaky memory of the rest too.

[@calebcox4963]

I loved Tau Zero too. Poul Anderson is one of my favorites. The Broken Sword is a very good dark fantasy, and a good place to go next with his books. Three Hearts and Three Lions is another great fantasy. Anderson could also be very funny when he wanted to be, particularly in the High Crusade, but also his Nicolas Van Rijn stories such as the Man Who Counts.

[@sfwordsofwonder]

Thanks, Broken Sword sounds like it will be a good one for me next. It's hard to find shorter stand alone fantasy novels.

[@BryanM.R.-wt9eb]

Nice! This sounds like one I would really dig. Thanks for the commentary. Early 20th century physics got interesting. I remember that weird point in my college physics courses when the mathematics (and sometimes even the experimental results) started flying in the face of daily human experience and intuition. Guess that's why I did chemistry instead. 😁 I'm dabbling in recording some videos again. Most of my reading tends to be nonfiction, but there will probably be some SF in there. Have a good one!

[@sfwordsofwonder]

Watching your video now. Thanks Bryan.

[@CptSamel]

Oh man, I think I’ll pass on this one. As a starship captain from 3485 with Temporal Distortion Disorder, a book like this would hit too close to home. Ever heard the song Pushin the Speed of Light by Julia Ecklar? I can’t listen to it without bawling 😭

[@SciFiScavenger]

I've never read any of his books, despite now having 20ish of em on my shelves, including Tau Zero. I must get around to it! 👍

[@sfwordsofwonder]

I think you will like Tau Zero. From what I can tell it's the best place to start with Poul.

[@joebrooks4448]

In my teens, I read a lot of his writings. I do not recall Tau Zero very well, except for the time dilation problems. I liked the Flandry stories and a lot of his short stories, but he gets a bit repetitive in his promotion of rule by a royal class. I recall and reread some of his short stories, "The Helping Hand," again a few weeks ago.

[@themojocorpse1290]

Read this one about 20 years back also but remember it well . The time dilation trope has been done lots now but think this was one of the first times I came across the idea great book a real page turner.

[@sfwordsofwonder]

Yeah, its a really great book. Re-reading after decades is fun and a good memory test. Glad this one held up for me.

[@andrewb.3076]

It's been a while since I've read it but I remember that I liked it a lot too. This video jugged some of my memory again, the time dilation effects are definitely intriguing. I remember when I read this, I also read "The Boat of a Million Years" by Anderson at the time... which is a novel with a big scope as well but more of a scope kept within time at earth with immortals being amongst humanity.

[@sfwordsofwonder]

Hmm, Boat of a Million Years sounds good too. I'll be on the look out for a copy. Thanks for the recommendation.

[@andrewb.3076]

@@sfwordsofwonder it is a pretty good read, delves into some historical facts of some early civilizations such as the Aztecs as well.

[@Gary-zq3pz]

Spoiler, hell. I read this and Ringworld when I was in grade school. A good basic literacy test, not as rough as James Joyce's Ulysses though.